Tag: Windows XP

August 9, 2021 – Linux Mint, Learning and Relearning Stuff

August 9, 2021 /

I don’t have a good grasp on where I am going this week for a lot of reasons that I am not going to get completely into here. A part of it was that was that I have been working late and getting up early (for my job). I also worked all day Saturday and a half day Sunday. And when I wasn’t working I was gone for various social commitments. That always sort of fogs up whatever I want to accomplish here.

A few weeks back, I mentioned that I was experimenting with Linux. I solved my problem with why Unbuntu wasn’t loading. That was because I downloaded a 64 bit version and I was trying to launch it on 32bit hardware. After very little research, I saw that Linux Mint was still a recommended 32bit version and so I downloaded that. Low and behold, it worked. I could launch Linux from a thumb drive on my old (2005) computer.

Part of the reason that I wanted to mess around with this machine and Linux was to see if keeping this currently working computer was worth the space it was taking. Twice, I have pulled this machine out of the Tecnho-Junk (recycling) pile. To carry this experiment a little further, I decided to do a small upgrade. I wanted to spend as little as possible but improve the 2GB of RAM and 7GB of remaining hard drive space to give it the best chance of evaluation. So, I spent $30 for 4GB of Ram and a 320 GB hard-drive. I figured the worst cast scenario is that I could use the hard drive in my other computer as a backup, so I only risked $10 for the RAM which I may not have needed anyway.

Through some research, I learned that the most RAM a 32bit system could utilize was 4GB. I also learned that the difference between XP Home and Professional was that Home was 32bit and Professional was 64bit. Therefore, the hardware that was put in the box when it was built was the limiting factor. Even though I had four slots for RAM, My machine was only utilizing 3GB. It seems like another limitation that I have is that I can’t utilize the max amount anyway.

Next I had to decide what to do with the new hard drive. I wanted the dual boot option to go into XP or Linux. Maybe it was the price or I was just ignorant it had been a long time since I ordered a hard drive. I ordered an IDE hard drive instead of an ATA hard drive. I had to scratch my head with Master/Slave jumpers and cable position conundrum (It has probably been 15 years since I dealt with that stuff).

People newer to this arena have no idea how much easier it is than it used to be. After getting the drive physically configured to work, the drive needs to be formatted so that it can get software installed. In XP, that required putting the operating system CD in. In my case, my disk was SP2 and my computer was running SP3 so of course the CD would not read and home edition didn’t have a built in ‘repair’ option on boot up. Fortunately, my XP was working so I was able to format the drive from XP.

Once the hard-drive was formatted, then I could install Linux from the USB drive. My first problem was trying to figure out how to partition the hard drive in Linux. It supposedly works in NTSB format but it wanted to use EXT4 format. I muddled my way through that and then I was on to installing Mint which went pretty smoothly.

After I got everything installed. There were about 20 operating system updates that I could run, which I did.

So… It works and it is not too slow. So far, what I have noticed is that things are slightly different than Windows. Not a lot, but enough that I don’t know what I am doing. For instance, HP doesn’t directly make any printer drivers and my printer is supposedly compatible. But I can’t (yet) figure out how to find the printer on the network and get it to print even though I have the IP address. It seems like the hardliners are into command based help which is all foreign to me as well so I get lost in all of the vocabulary

End Your Programming Routine: I have also noticed that some of the software I run like Myki password manager is 64 bit only. There may come some limitations with the age of the hardware that it might not make sense to keep this thing around eventually. But I am going to keep messing around with it for the heck of it for now

May 4, 2020 – The continued legacy of ‘Techno-junk’

May 4, 2020 /

I had another occasion to dig up what I call Techno-junk this weekend. It happens to be an old desktop computer from the Windows XP era. There is a circuitous route for why I wanted it in a minute.

I am having a problem with the headlights on our 2010 Navigator. They will just shut off without warning. Sometimes it is one side, other times it is the other side and sometimes it is both. When driving in town, you may not notice that your headlights are out, everything seems dim however. So, I wanted to use my scanner to check for any codes that might be present.

I didnt get any codes at all. My scanner is only configurable to the model year 2007. This scanner is upgradeable, by connecting it to the computer via serial cable otherwise known as COM. This is an old connection style, today it would USB. In fact, there are COM to USB converters, but I do not have one.

This machine we used three generations of operating systems ago. I think we probably used it from around 2005 – 2012. It does have a COM port and I have connected this scanner before. This computer has kind of lagged around, not for this reason but because it has personal information on it, including a lot of old photos. I have made efforts to remove these items but the total status remains unclear.

The first problem I had was that the BIOS battery was dead. Apparently, I knew this because a new battery was installed, but the protective sticker was still on the back of the battery. I installed the battery and set the BIOS clock. Then the cover was off, and there is some sort of proximity switch that prevents boot up without the cover.

I did get the computer running, I navigated through all of the errors and warnings to update the scanner. Then I started looking around to see what was still on this computer. I found a lot of music, iTunes worked perfectly and it notified me that the newest version was available for download. It even downloaded current versions of podcasts that I am still subscribed to.

When I launched Rhapsody, it blue screened. After reboot, it launched but it was a program that wasn’t used much so it really didn’t have a lot of data or function. While I was messing around, updates were prompted to install.

Twenty-eight updates were attempted to install. At least six failed, they were .NET framework service packs and things of that ilk. But I was sure surprised that there were any updates. I had several blue screens during the process so I am not sure what the real problem is. Now, the machine wont boot passed the BIOS check.

There are some warning lights on the back of the case. The status indication is that there is an ‘other problem’. Troubleshooting steps are to verify the connections of the hard drive and disk drive are solid. It kind of acts like a hard drive failure though.

One trick that I have used in the past is to remove the hard drive and plug it into a working machine. That bypasses all of the other hardware issues. If I can offload the data (one more time), this machine will finally be headed to the scrap heap.

Because my scanner is OBD II specific, there are no other updates that it will receive and the COM port will no longer be necessary as that protocol was ended in 2012. The scanner is as up to date as it will ever be. Some things will be lost forever like music downloaded with the Windows Music license format. That idea was not carried forward and will only play on devices originally downloaded. Tax years 2011 and 2010 are no longer relevant. Only photos are the prize.

I guess what inspired this post was my amazement that six years after support ended, I still had pending updates. I know that this machine has been on and connected in that time. This experience has driven a few planned posts as well 1) headlight resolution of the Navigator 2) repair of the Yamaha sound systems – I know what is wrong there.

I am still very much busy with my housing project. That is partially why last week was so barren. But I will be back.